Biology: leptin

Self-tutoring about hormones: the tutor mentions leptin.

The following is my understanding.

Leptin, it seems, is produced by body fat. Its purpose is to suppress hunger: when the system is working correctly, a certain level of leptin stops appetite, while below it will cause hunger.

Because body fat produces leptin, the more fat a person carries, the higher the leptin in their blood. While one would expect a rise in leptin would suppress appetite and therefore prevent further fat gain, it seems not to always work. A suggested reason for this is that the brain can become insensitive to leptin if it’s been subjected to a high amount of it over time. This is called leptin resistance. In such a scenario, leptin loses its effect, so that one’s hunger may get out of control.

Such is my understanding about leptin.

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